Box-fastener



(Model.)

0. A. TAYLOR. Box Fastener.

No. 236,735 Patented Jan. 18, I881.

In U672 for:

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N-PEIERS. moruumoempuzn. WASMMGTON, D10.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. TAYLOR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN H. SESSIONS, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.

BOX-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 236,735, dated January 18, 1881.

Application filed August 31, 1880. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. TAYLOR, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trunk-Catches, of which the following, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of a trunk-catch embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a rear view, and Fig. 8 a section in the plane of the line a; w of Fig. 2.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

The trunk-catch embodying my present invention consists of two rigid plates, A and B, of a sliding catch or bolt, C, and of a spring, D. The plates A and B and the catch or bolt C, I make, by preference, of malleable iron. The spring may be made of any suitable flexible metal. Both plates have flat portions or wings a a, adapting them to be fastened securely to the trunk by means of suitable fastenings, and a a are openings or holes for the passage of such fastening-s. The lower plate, A, has in it a recess, A, which may be wholly open at the back, and in the front of this plate are the openings E and F entering the recess A, the said openings being separated from each other by a cross-portion, b, of the plate A. The plateA also sets out or forward, to form small pockets or recesses.,G G, and small ribs or guards, c c, are, by preference, made on each side of the opening 1X H is a pin or post in the recess A.

The sliding catch or bolt C has at its upper end the hook or lug I, which extends forward therefrom, and is beveled on its top, as shown.

J is a thumb piece or projection on that part of the slide C which is exposed in the opening E, it being understood that this slide is to be so arranged in the recess A that the hook I will project through the opening F, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

K is a slot cut longitudinally in the slide C, and through this slot the pin or post H passes freely. The spring D lies along the back of the slide C, and having its lower end resting in a slight niche or depression in the plate A. The spring D is held in place by means of a small projection, (1, extending from the post or pin H through the spring, and then headed down upon it slightly. By this means the springis made tohold the hookorlugIyieldingly in the opening, and also admits of the slide C being pushed inward and downward until the said hook or lug will rest on the inner face of the part I), where it will also be held by the spring.

To cause the slide C to move easily, and to furnish a bearing on which it may rock as its hook moves in and out of the opening F, it may be provided with arched or rounded ribs 0 0, arranged, as shown, to bear against the inner face or surface of the lower part of the plate A.

The plate B has a depending tongue, B, in which there is an opening, B, adapted to receive the projecting end of the hook or lug I, the said tongue being set out or forward sufficien tly for that purpose, as is plainly indicated in Fig. 3.

G G are dowels or extensions, adapted and arranged to enter the pockets or recesses G G when the plates A and B are applied to use.

To apply these catches to a trunk, one or more plates, A A, should be fastened to the body of the trunk, and one or more plates, B B, to the lid, or vice versa, all being arranged at or near the meeting-edges of those parts of the trunk in such manner that the engagement of the hook or lug I with the tongue B will result when the lid is closed. As the lid is closed the lower end or edge of the tongue B strikes the beveled part of the hook I and pushes back the hook; but as soon as the opening B is in front of the hook the hook will enter it, and thus engage the tongue B, the spring D then pushing the hook forward. The trunk-lid will then be fastened down by the catches, which, as will be perceived, engage automatically. To disengage the catches, it is only necessary to place the thumb or finger on the exposed part of the yielding and sliding part C, press that bar in until the hook I is released, and then push the bar downward until the hook rests on or against the inner face of the part b, where it will remain, as before stated, until again intentionally moved. The lid maynow be opened, and,if again closed, will not be locked or fastened by the catches; but to set the catches so that the lid will be again locked automatically on being closed, it

is only necessary to place the thumb or finger again on the exposed part of the slide 0 and push it upward until the hook I is in a position to enter the opening F, which it will enter as soon as the said bar is released. The rib or thumb-piece J aids greatly in enabling the user to move the part 0 up and down with facility; but a depression or even opening there arranged would serve the same purpose.

The movement vertically of the slide 0, in the example shown, may be restricted, either by the length of the recess in which it is arranged or by the length of the slot K, or by both, when such restriction is deemed best.

I am aware that the dowels G G and their receiving-sockets have heretofore been employed for the purpose of preventing the lid from being moved laterally or from lateral strain when closed. I do not, therefore, here intend to lay any claim thereto, and they do not form a necessary part of those features of construction which constitute my present invention, though they may be used in connection therewith with advantage for the purposes referred to.

It will be perceived from the foregoing description, and by reference to the drawings, that the sliding and yielding catch (J is so exposed that it may be controlled or moved directly by the user or without the intervention of either cams, eccentrics, levers, slides, or other releasing devices, and that the catch is simple in its construction and operation, and maybe manipulated with facility for the purposes for which it is intended.

It will also be perceived that the sliding and yielding catch O, exposed as described, for being moved in the manner set forth, may be employed for the purposes specified without reference to some of the minor details of construction which I have herein particularly explained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of the plate A, having therein a recess in which is the opening E, adapted and arranged to receive the thumb or finger, the yielding and sliding spring-catch C, arranged in the said recess and exposed in the said opening, and the plate B, having a depending tongue, adapted and arranged for engagement by the said catch, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

CHARLES A. TAYLOR.

WVitnesses 1+. F. WARNER, A. T. BENNETT. 

